Winter: Art of the Sword.
TO SEE MORE STORIES FROM THE GALLNERIUM, CLICK HERE. Monologue Hello all, welcome back to another legend of the many tales of the Sword of Sworn Freedom. In this story I shall tell you about how a boy who lived in poor conditions became the most well renowned artist and hero known to man and how Ricardo's heroic tale ended. Chapter I: the passing of the sword Ricardo, his current age 88. He seems to have not aged since. Today he slays his last beast. He makes his way over to the mystery dungeon which had remained there since the creation of the sword. Ricardo at this point is no longer in his prime. He has to rely on the swords mana in order to sustain his strength. Every day he feels just a tiny bit weaker than the last. The truth is, he was aging. The reason he still looks the same as when he fought the Fleshgod is because the mana from the sword grants youth. However Ricardo was still weakening from age because his large muscular body can be unsustainable after constant use of the sword's energy. He never let that get to him though. He was still a hero, in his prime or not, he was still stronger than most enemies that existed. His body may be weaker but his resolve wasn't. "Master, today will mark the last day of your life, you shall slay your final beast." Ricardo quivered slightly in fear. "''' '''You shall make this beast perish from this world." "Who is this beast, I may ask?" "It's name is the Reverberant, a child of the Fleshgod. This offspring's goal was to make the world suffer a second Fleshgod apocalypse when it has fully matured. This inferno which shall declare day of judgement is known as The Second Decadence. I ask you to muster up your final bouts of strength in order to prevent this." "And I assume I am doing this now because I won't be able to kill it in the future if it grows stronger since I will be worn out and weak." "Correct. The location of the Reverberant is located within a lifeless terrain known as the Valley of The Damned, I shall guide your path." Ricardo makes his journey towards to the valley. Ricardo notices he isn't as fast as he used to be in his prime. "How much of the mana can I use?" Ricardo asks. "As much as you need to. Today is your last anyway, make it your best." A hopeful smile lights up on Ricardo's face. "Got it." He exclaims reassuringly. You cant see it, but this made the spirit within the blade smile too. Ricardo arrives, and enters into the dungeon. He descends down the seemingly endless spiral staircase where he shall meet his final foe. There it was, at the end of the corridor stood the Minotaur-like boy which was the Reverberant which was to be Ricardo's final enemy. Surrounding it was the skeletons of unfortunate heroes who tried to stand against it's heartless wrath. Ricardo's grip tightens. In the flash of a second, the Reverberant hisses and bears it's fangs. It bounds aggressively towards Ricardo and attempts to bite him. Ricardo sends more mana into his arms and swings the sword and it lands directly on the wretched demon. It cries out in pain and strikes Ricardo with its bloody claws. The attack lands however it remained a scratch because of Ricardo's leftover speed and reaction time. Ricardo tenses and saturates his body with mana and feels a throbbing strain on his body. "All these years do have their affect don't they," unwillingly stated Ricardo. In a spur of a second, he paces over to the Reverberant and begins hacking away at it's flesh in a series of slices and jabs. He rounds off the combo with a swift kick and launches the Reverberant to the end of the corridor. What sat their was the bloodied body of the Reverberant. "Your quest is not done, the beast has not perished yet." The Reverberant screeches out in agony. A scream which could be heard from miles away. Slowly, it makes it's way on it's feet. All the wounds were mysteriously closing. The beast's muscle mass expands and it's appearance becomes more monstrous and gruesome. It's teeth begin to grow and resemble those of a lion. Ricardo stares in fear. The Reverberant picks up the hero in one hand and throws him through the dungeon. "Master, remember the words." "But the strain will be-" "No, it's okay. just chant them as heartfully as you can. It will be more than enough to stop the Second Decadence." Ricardo gets up on his feet and braces himself. "O, holy sword! I request of thee! May you allow me to grant freedom to this world one last time! I beg of you! May all my people of Earth breathe the fresh air that is freedom!" "RAISE MY SWORD! FREEDOM SHALL BECOME THOUSANDS OF FLAMES!" "I remember this feeling. The same feeling I felt during the Fleshgod Apocalypse." "Come, wretched beast. Your twisted and mindless pride shall be your downfall," The Reverberant attemps to run and strike Ricardo. In a split second, the Reverberant is gashed across it's side and bleeds uncontrollably. It's claws are slashed towards Ricardo. No use, Ricardo dodged faster than what is able to be seen and stands on top of the Reverberant. "Master. There is one last thing I want you to say before you strike this creature," Ricardo takes all the mana from the sword. He is truly outputting 100% of the swords potential. He chants: THE SUN, THE MOON, THE STARS, THEY SHALL SHINE LESS BRIGHTLY WITH YOU AND YOUR LIKENESS! Ricardo raises his sword. For the last last time, he shall rid the world of decadence. At last, he swings the sword downwards where it splits the Reverberant into oblivion. The beast is no longer to be found. The grass in the valley turns from grey to a luscious green. The Hero is only to be found. He holds the sword up in triumph. The sun can be seen rising over the horizon and minutes pass. The Hero of Freedom has completed his final quest and drops the sword. What is now left of him is an emaciated man. The hero collapses and his soul ascends. Centuries pass and what is now left of a proud legacy are Ricardo's bones and the Sword of Sworn Freedom ready to choose it's next host. The sword remains dormant in this dungeon, which is now a tomb for Ricardo, regaining all of it's mana from the legendary battles the previous host had fought. That new host is who we now will find out about. Chapter II: Winter's Revelations Winter is a 13 year old boy who lived in a poor house, in a poor town. He had no future, for he lacked status and was constantly chastised everytime he went into public. Although, he had an affinity for drawing and art. One day, Winter was taking a long walk through the grasslands where he finds an interesting looking building. It appears small at first. Slowly, he walks over towards the stone building. Much to his surprise, he finds a flight of stairs inside. Intrigued, he descends down the staircase. "Why is it taking such a long time? Just how long is this staircase?" Winter said to himself. At last, he reaches the bottom of the stairs where he is met with a long corridor. Much to his expectations, there is a very muscular man stood next to a stone with a gleaming sword sat upon it. The man is then seen to be trying to yank the sword out of the stone. It wouldn't budge. The sword hadn't moved at all. "This stupid thing! Why can't I pull it out of the stone? That's it, I will just carry it by the stone and see who can take it out for me at the blacksmith." The strange man said. Winter quickly dashes for somewhere to hide. The man walks past, with the stone and sword in his grasp and Winter remains unseen. With a sigh of relief, He wipes the sweat off his forehead. Intrigued, Winter followed the man. There was no worry, since Winter was a brilliant navigator. He has never gotten lost in his life. Eventually, he is led to a rich town. In case Winter needed to leave quickly, he had marked out a path on a sheet of paper so he knows where he is going. The man from earlier is seen standing up on some form of podium. "Hello all! I have returned from my expedition and I stand up here for I have found something of the magnificent sort!" he bellowed. The audience cheer in excitement. He walks over to the right to reveal the sword. The audience gasp. "Now, any questions before we continue?" The audience raise their hands. "Where did you find the sword?" Yelled a child from the crowd. "I had found it in a dungeon!" Answered the man. The crowd uproar into a fit of cheering and applause. "Now, I shall remove the sword from the stone." It didn't work. The sword hadn't moved an inch. Just like before. The crowd begin muttering and they are in disbelief. Winter felt something strong from within. The sword was beckoning for him. As the burly man was struggling, Winter jumps onto the stage. "Step aside. I shall take it out for you." Winter exclaims. The crowd erupt into laughter. "Huh!? Him? He cant even hold a sword!" Someone scoffed. "Get that wimp off the stage! What is he even thinking?" Someone else shouted. "Peasants like him don't deserve to be here!" Shouted another. Out of the blue, Winter tightens his grip on the sword and pulls it out with minimal effort and carries it high in the air. The jaws of the crowd drop to the floor. The large burly man, who is presumably the protector of the town, is taken aback. He begins crying his eyes out. "Too bad, hero," Winter said sarcastically. All of the sudden, the man's crying just intensifies and he begins to make a real fool of himself. Winter feels... different. All of a sudden he feels alot stronger than he was to begin with. His speed has increased significantly and his overall stamina is spectacular. By that I mean he gains more endurance and strength than the highest endurance person at the time. "Is this, because of the sword?" Winter wonders in awe. He finds himself being able to run the entire journey home. Chapter III: The Sun, The Moon, The Stars. As usual, he wakes up. He then walks over to pick up the sword and takes a better look. "Winter." "Thats you isn't it, the sword?" Winter concluded "Rightly said. Also yes, that strength boost you felt yesterday is indeed coming from me. More specifically the host before you." "Can you explain who he is? I'm honestly really interested," Winter asked. "He was a fantastic hero. His name was Ricardo Milos. He had slain thousands and thousands of enemies during his life. He was the one who had slain the two major beasts of armageddon. These being the Fleshgod and the Reverberant. He had trained hard to get all the strength he could. When he passed away, all of that power resided within me. Now here we are now. All of his strength is within you. Now you have the potential to become stronger and become another legend with a blissful legacy" "I see now." He said. "Oh, I forgot. Where are my manners? I am the Sword of Sworn Freedom. I am the weapon which conforms to the host's wishes in order to grant freedom to humanity." Everyday, Winter constantly trains with the sword. Experimenting with ways that work best for him. One day, he finds it. He may not be as proficient at swordfighting like Ricardo, however he was able to use the mana within the sword to cast spells and use magic attacks. They are devastatingly powerful. "I think you are ready." "For what?" Asked Winter, "To battle the Legend of Millenium. A former hero who was hypnotized and transformed into a corrupt villian who follows orders from a leader. I am unable to identify who that leader is however I conclude it may have something to do with all the beasts and villians who run rampant in this world." "You can rely on me. Don't worry." Winter reassured. "I never will worry." The date: 7th of May, 7 years have passed since Winter took posession of the Sword of Sworn Freedom. The Day of The Burning Dawn is imminent. The sword directs Winter to a burning village. Where he sees a burly cloaked man hovering in the air with a dark coloured sword in his mysterious grasp. Screams are to be heard from every corner of the inferno. "NOW, WHO IS NEXT?" Bellows out a familiar voice from the cloaked man as he sinks his blade into the heart of another helpless bystander. "Turn around, Legend of Millenium." Winter commands heroically. "YOU DARE COMMAND ME YOU PEASANT?" The cloaked man shrieked as he swung his sword in Winter's direction. He effortlessly parries the attack and retaliates. The blade is sent towards the man and he blocks. Despite this, he is sent towards the back of an alley. "IMPOSSIBLE! NOBODY DARES CHALLENGE MY WRATH!" He cries out. Climbing back on his feet, he then screams out a deafening scream and a dark red aura begins to surround him. The force of this magic causes his cloak to rip apart and reveal who he is. "Hang on, are you-" Winter realised that the man he had seen in the dungeon and on that stage those years ago was indeed the person he is fighting right now. He wanted to say that however he was cutoff by an explosion created by the Legend of Millenium. His appearance has completely changed. He doesn't have as much muscle mass as before however he is much stronger in terms of strength, magic power and speed. The true battle starts now. “I was the man who you humiliated in front of my people. You, a peasant had caused me great grief and isolation. Everyone in my town didn’t want me anymore because I was bested by the likes of YOU! I have returned here to get my revenge on these helpless pawns. Don’t get in my way.” Said the legend. “Never, you shall never slay a single soul ever again.” Winter exclaimed. The corrupt hero dashes toward Winter ready to strike with his sword however Winter counters with a ball of fire, pushing the Legend back. While he is wide open and vulnerable, Winter appears out of seemingly nowhere and swings his sword and it hits the Legend’s shoulder. The legend counters with a sword swing and it hits Winter right in the abdomen. He cries out in pain, bleeding profusely. Was his legacy going to be cut short? Will he die in vain? He had to do something quick. In the spur of the moment, he casts a bright blinding light. He quickly made an escape to where he cant be seen. Using the magic of the sword, he heals the wound and recovers his strength. Winter, don’t forget. ' The hero’s eyes light up. He remembers what the sword had told him long ago. Winter hastily made his way to where the Legend of Millenium was. Hovering in the air, he grips the sword with both hands. “WHAT? I thought I had stabbed you through the stomach! How has the wound closed?” The corrupt villian shouts. “That doesn’t matter! You shall repent and bear the weight of your wrongdoings!” Winter declared. He tightened his grip on the sword. He outputs more magic and he chants: '"THE SUN, THE MOON, THE STARS! THEY SHALL SHINE LESS BRIGHTLY WITH YOU AND YOUR LIKENESS!" There was a sudden massive flash of light. There was a strong energy emanating from the light. From the light emerged Winter. His bodily form had changed drastically. He was wearing armour which was pristine and pure. His sword had changed too. It had grown significantly and it sported The Sun, The Moon, The Stars on the hilt. The Legend of Millenium cowered in fear. “I beg of you! Hero, I apologise for my wrongdoings and I demand you spare my life! I shall never slay another soul again!” Pleaded the Legend. “No, words aren’t sufficient. You may repent all you want, however that does not undo the damage you have dealt to this world. You shall pay with your death.” Declared Winter. Dramatically, he swings his sword, outputting full energy and ends the Legend of Millenium’s life. The perilous revenge of the Legend of Millenium was ended by Winter. After, he tended to all the wounded, using his magic to rebuild houses and heal the injured. Chapter IV: Winter’s fulfilled legacy. Winter’s age now is 72. His efficient use of the sword’s magic allows him to keep all aspects of his youth. Winter, your legacy has now been fulfilled. Remember, you promised those many decades ago to return me to Ricardo’s tomb. “Yeah.” Agreed Winter. He makes his way over to the Valley of The Damned where he located the tomb. He enters and descends down the spiral staircase. He finds the carved stone and walks over towards it. When you place the sword back in it’s place, you shall keep the essence of the sword within you for the rest of your life, allowing you to keep your youth and strength with you. Once you pass away, all your power will go into the sword and i will lay dormant here and wait patiently for my next host. “I see,” Winter says. He strikes the sword down into the stone. Here, Winter had fulfilled his destiny and prevented the world from sustaining the brunt of the Legend’s corrupt wrath. This was Winter: Art of the Sword. Category:Heroes Category:Quests Category:Books